AMALFI COAST LEMON | How Does it Grow?

Meet the “flying farmer” whose unique lemons (sfusato amalfitano) are farmed nowhere else on earth — AND discover why his lemon trees are literally saving the Amalfi Coast from ecological disaster.

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♪ (music) ♪

(Nicole) On Italy's Amalfi Coast

there's a food farmed
nowhere else on Earth.

Caring for it requires fearlessness,

breathtaking agility,

and a deep connection to the land.

This is a young man's trade

but it's done almost entirely by old men,

and I've come here to meet
one of the greatest.

♪ (music) ♪

(Nicole) Gigino just turned 83,

he's spent his whole life
tending a very special kind of lemon.

here on the hillsides of Amalfi.

(Nicole) Gigino and his son
Salvatore have invited me

to harvest the fable Amalfi Coast lemon,

sfusato amalfitano

a variety that's celebrated
for its sweetness and aroma.

But first, café!

(Nicole) Saluti!

(Nicole) With a twist of lemon, of course.

That's really good!
(Laughter)

(Nicole) I'm ready to go now. Let's go!

(Salvatore) Now you're ready.

♪ (music) ♪

(Nicole) The name, sfusato, comes
from the lemon's taper end,

like a spindle or fuso, in Italian.

This is sfusato amalfitano.

The original!

(Nicole) Only sfusato grown along
the 20 miles coastal strip

between Vietri and Positano

can legally be sold
as Amalfi Coast lemons.

This is the preferred habitat
of the sfusato amalfitano,

and attempts to commercially grow it
outside of Italy have failed.

♪ (music) ♪

(Nicole) Gigino often works in the most
precarious place possible...

atop the mountainside pergolas
that support the trees.

♪ (music) ♪

(Nicole) This breathtaking aerial act
has earned Gigino and his cohorts

a nickname:

the Flying Farmers.

♪ (music) ♪

(Nicole) It's easy
to drive along the coast

and think the cascading lemon terraces
are entirely ornamental,

they are just postcard perfect.

But that's what this coast does to people,

it gives us delusion of grandeur,

that all of this is here purely
to fulfill our fantasy of paradise.

But in reality,
the lemons play a vital role,

not only in the livelihood
of farmers like Gigino,

but in the very survival
of the Amalfi Coast,

literally, the survival.

The roots of these trees are anchoring
the soil to this sheer coastline.

Now, the farmers are aging,

and there's not exactly a line of people
clamoring to take up this work.

As more farms have been abandoned,
the mudslides have increased.

♪ (music) ♪

(Nicole) Gigino's farmland
includes an ancient terrace grove

that overlooks the heart
of Amalfi and the sea.

Up here feels worlds away

but it's staringly close
to the bustling streetlife below

where you can hear
children playing as Gigino works.

It's terrifying to think of
what would happen

if these terraces crumble.

(Nicole) It was only recently
that Gigino's eldest son Sal

quit his cushy accounting job

to become his father's apprentice.

He knew that if he didn't act now

then a legacy of over two centuries
and five generations would die with him.

(Salvatore) He teaches me
day by day and I'm learning.

It's difficult because

it's difficult to learn
80 years of experience.

(Nicole) Gigino tends two seasons
worth of lemons at the same time.

The ones he'll harvest this year
from February to September,

and the babies
that will be next year's crop.

Gigino's lemons are organic

not because he's trying to conform
to any modern day standard,

but rather the opposite,

because he's farming the way
his family has farmed for generations.

(Nicole) The spring is such
a special time to be here.

The trees are uncloaked from the netting

that protects the fruit
against wind and hail.

The trees bloom perfuming the air
and luring bees to pollinate.

The Aceto keeps their own hives
and harvests the honey too.

The fertilized flowers grow into fruits
which start up as green as limes.

A third of Gigino's lemons
are used to make limoncello

in their own small factory.

The rest goes to ice cream
and other limoncello factories

and a few to fresh markets.

- (Nicole) Can I try?
- (Gigino) Yes.

All right, these are real deal shears.
(Laughter)

Ok.

All right, we want leaves on these.

The branches and the leaves
also indicate that is really fresh,

that is coming straight from the farm.

(Nicole) I've got this one.

(Gigino speaking Italian)

(Nicole) It's not for me --
(Gigino speaking Italian)

(Nicole) He'll do it!

I can get this one, though...

It's heavy enough!

♪ (music) ♪

- Saluti!
- Saluti!

(Nicole) I've seen
a lot of tough farm work

but I really can't think of
a more challenging terrain than this.

Heavy loads have to be hauled
up and down narrow craggy steps

from terrace

to terrace

to terrace...

But Gigino also claims a unique advantage.

He's got one of the most technologically
advanced poling systems on the coast.

- I'm serious, this little cable car!
- (Dog barking)

(Nicole) Cable car aside,

watching Gigino's farm is
stepping back in time 200 years.

He crafts each pergola himself
from the chestnut trees in his forests

and then, he uses pliable willow branches

to tie the pergola to
the limbs of the lemon trees

to lift them up to the sun
which sweetens the fruit.

Preparing the willow ties
is an ancient practice.

Watching him do this fills me
with a deep sense of privilege.

It's like, I'm seeing
a tradition so fragile

that if I blink, it may cease to exist.

(Nicole) It's Sunday

and three generations of Aceto
are gathered under the pergolas for lunch.

There's pasta, sausages and flank steak

and, of course, lemon cake.

You know, in its heyday Amalfi was
an incredible, powerful maritime republic,

and a gateway to the continent
for Arab traders.

They are the ones who first
brought citrus to this coast

in the 10th century.

Ever since, wealthy visitors
from near and far,

have volleyed
for the keys to this kingdom.

Most of the aristocrats that
lorded over this land are long gone,

but the local people they hired
to care for these orchards,

their lineage remains and for now,

for as long as the roots of their trees
can hold this place together,

this land belongs to them.

♪ (music) ♪

(Nicole) My time with the Aceto is over
but our adventure is just getting started.

I'm heading to nearby Naples to discover
how lemons have inspired Italian cooking.

Join me to learn from this dashing lad.

- Ciao!
- (Laughter)

a delicious lemony pasta that's so easy,

you can master it at home.

So, stay tune for Part 2 of
our Southern Italy special.

English subtitles by
Jenny Lam-Chowdhury